FELT FR1 build aka: carbonpornspeedmachine

[RocketRacing]

So I figured it was about time to document my bike build.

Note: much has changed, see page 4 for the current incarnation. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=155095&start=45

I picked this puppy up in the summer of 2018, as part of a recovery “program” post car accident (flipped a race car 4.5 times), as riding my lightweight mountain bike (19.5lbs dual suspension Scott Spark) was just not in the cards last summer.

This is a size 51 2015 Felt F2, with ultegra di2 groupset. I got it used out of Quebec. I bought it sight unseen, but the owner worked in a bike store, and obviously kept good care of it, as it was in excellent shape. He said it had 3000kms on it.

It came with upgraded Mavic R-sys Slr wheels (1295g), and 25c vittoria g+ tires. Knowing i wanted a light build, the wheels were a nice selling point.

This was 15.5lbs stock (no pedals), and 16.25lbs at purchase (with my my crankbrother eggbeater 10 pedals on it i believe). At first i did not even have road pedals... or shoes.

It was a beautiful bike no doubt.

[RocketRacing]

Step one involved getting some proper road shoes. I opted for giro empire slx shoes as they fit my duck feet quite well. They are also proper light, and matched the colors of my bike.

I also upgraded the stem to wren, which is 60$ for a stem only 10g heaver than an extralight of the same length. I opted for an agressive -17degrees.

I also saved 15 or so grams removing the tape from the bar tops. The aeronova bars have a partial aero profile, so it was a “poor mans” aerobars.

Finally i went with some pretty light, but reasonably priced itanium skewers and carbon bottle holders from mt zoom. The holders really hold well.

[RocketRacing]

Next came some light and aero kit from castelli. I got the climbers jersey, aero 4.0, aero 5.1 (?), superleggera. I wanted max lightness, and max aero with my kit, as the rider is the main drag source on a bike.

I also got a berk lupina in 18k matching carbon. This piece would be the start of a carbon sickness on this bike. I later swapped it for a slightly heavier oval rails version. Very comfy!

Finally... latex tubes. Oh, and a elite fly bottle. 52g for 550mls, and 58g for 750mls. Love them, and they are the lightest bottles on the market.

[RocketRacing]

Next came a garmin 130 (36g), garmin vectra 3s (one sided power meter pedals), and a garmin varia radar.

I will say that the radar is essential for road riding. It never misses a car and gives me a clear visual and auditory signal for an approaching car. It also flashes faster when a car approaches. I Will never ride a road bike without one, as a combo of wind and quiet cars can allow them to creep up on you.

More shots of the shoes also.

Finally, I got the bontragger balista aero helmet. It was reasonable weight, and had the top safety score of any bike helment tested (forget the study), including mips technology. Finally, it is one of the more aero road helmets out there.

[jencvo]

Next came a garmin 130 (36g), garmin vectra 3s (one sided power meter pedals), and a garmin varia radar.

I will say that the radar is essential for road riding. It never misses a car and gives me a clear visual and auditory signal for an approaching car. It also flashes faster when a car approaches. I Will never ride a road bike without one, as a combo of wind and quiet cars can allow them to creep up on you.

More shots of the shoes also.

Finally, I got the bontragger balista aero helmet. It was reasonable weight, and had the top safety score of any bike helment tested (forget the study), including mips technology. Finally, it is one of the more aero road helmets out there.

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Very nice! If you don't mind me asking, have you owner Berk saddle before or does it fit very similarly to any others out there? It crossed my mind to try one but it's obviously a very expensive route to go down if it doesn't fit.

[RocketRacing]

Very nice! If you don't mind me asking, have you owner Berk saddle before or does it fit very similarly to any others out there? It crossed my mind to try one but it's obviously a very expensive route to go down if it doesn't fit.

This was my first lupina. I did take a risk on it, but i loved it so much that i have been swaping my bikes to them. Even my xc bike has one now. Just skip the round rails as they are too flexy (and i am only 130lbs). They are the most comfortable saddles i own.

They are a bit out of style now, with the popularity of shorted saddles, but i am sold on the lupina.

[hannawald]

Nice frame, looks very clean and timeless.
I would just keep the weightweenie way:) you have Berk saddle (it is great, i confirm) and then very heavy garmin pedals..would be better use stages/4iii and use speedpay zero (buy cheapest version and upgrade spindles to chinese titanium). It will be reasonable cost and 150g for pedals.

[RocketRacing]

Nice frame, looks very clean and timeless.
I would just keep the weightweenie way:) you have Berk saddle (it is great, i confirm) and then very heavy garmin pedals..would be better use stages/4iii and use speedpay zero (buy cheapest version and upgrade spindles to chinese titanium). It will be reasonable cost and 150g for pedals.

Thanks, kind of like a black suit. The f series shape stayed the same for many years. Only the layup changed. The FR replaced it in 2017. It was lighter still, but the front got higher, and if you wanted rim brake, they were bb mounted...

This thread is not yet caught up to reality.

I did some quick math on power metres. The vectors were as light or equal to other options, given where i later went with my cranks. I also found some light pedals with the same cleat/stack/qfactor as the garmins. So i can run one sided power and one light pedal, dual sided for training, or go full weight weenie with two light pedals. But the upgraded ti axles is a good tip. I probably could have saved a few$$ going that way on my pedals (xpedo thrust).

But this is not a pure weight weenie build. It ended up weight weenie meets tech weenie meets aero.

[RocketRacing]

Next came a seatpost from Darimo. They made me one with a custom 280mm length, and custom 18k carbon weave. Matching drop bars, a sub 4 seatclamp, and lighter saddle clamp are on the way. I can not say enough good things about their product and service.

Right now, with all the electronics, the bike is hardly light.

[RocketRacing]

Next came sram etap (wifli). This was a bit of a splurge in my “medium budget” build, but it gave a lot of savings over 6870 ultegra di2. I got it at an end of year sale from sram. I figured they were making way for a 2019 update, and clearing stock. With minimal interest in 12 speed, i took the plunge.

Given that this bike was becoming a climbing build, i went with a 11-32 casette and 34-50 chainrings. Shifting has been excellent, and i love the wire free front of etap. I also much much prefer the feel and simplicity of etap shifting. No missshifts.

Gp4000sii tires in 25cc also went on for some improved rolling resistance, and a cleaner overall look.

[RocketRacing]

EE cycleworks brakes came next. I found these on ebay for a very good price used. They are second gen “yellow bushings” versions, with 27.5mm brake track clearance. With a quick clean they looked brand new aside from some mild wear on the bushings. No slop and they worked really well. At 200g (171g without pads), they were a big saving over the ultegra brakes (almost half the weight(, with no loss in performance. I was also able to make the front cable hidden in the shaddow of the headtube. Very nice design, even if aero bricks.

I also got a 3d printed garmin mount. If positions my garmin 130 in line with the stem for a more aero profile. I beleive the brand is raceware. 13g does not hurt either. It replaces an aluminum k edge. Being plastic, the garmin wiggles a bit if you push on it, but nothing of concern.

[RocketRacing]

Bars were next.

I had already removed tape from the tops, but i opted to remove the hood covers, and all bar tape. I lined weight bearing areas with one layer of flat bar tape running the length of the bar (not a wrap). I then used tessa tape to cover everything. This was a bit of a test to see if i could get something that was cosmetically satisfactory, as i am waiting for darimo bars anyway.

This saves me 74g, but i expect the tape to be high maintenance. I will try it out in the spring. Plan b is to replace the rubber hood covers and use perforated deda tape.

I wear gloves, so will wear my thicker padded (fingerless) gloves so that i can have the padding only where it is needed.

[seaneT1]

Lovely looking bike and a good weight so far, keep us updated on the process!!!

[RocketRacing]

Lovely looking bike and a good weight so far, keep us updated on the process!!!

Thanks. At this point we are under 14lbs ready to ride, and 13lbs as you might order it (not bottles, pedals, garmin gear, etc).

[RocketRacing]

And this is where things took a left turn.

When i got this bike, the lovely 18k carbon weave really took me. The matching berk saddle only reinforced in my mind that i needed more of the same carbon. Enter Darimo bars and seatpost!

The mavic r-sys slr wheels are about the lightest clinchers you can get for the money. Sure, ax lightness or schmolke clinchers would be lighter by maybe 100g... but for a 4-5K$ cost. Screw that!!!

But... i have taken a great interest in aero efficiency. The plan was to build up a textreme carbon 2019 felt IA16... full aero, no consideration for weight. This would match my F2 well (full lightweight, no consideration for aero). However, i could not stop forgetting that my mavics were aero bricks (big fat round spokes with balooning 25c tires on a 19.5mm wide rim).

On ebay I found a chinese dropshipping vendor called velocarbon that has been around since 2012. They had some nice looking carbon clinchers/tubeless wheels in 18k!!! I opted to order two rims, and order my own carbon ti x-hubs (60g front, 160g rear). I could have gone with dt swiss 240s hubs, but i ordered the carbon ti from r2 bikes at a great price... and fairwheel bikes had great things to say about them.

So... when my wife put my felt ia plans on hold (negotiations still in process... italy trip!), i opted for mid depth clincher 56mm rims in 18k carbon! My bike would be shifting from a pure lightweight build, to an allrounder. The weight penalty will be 200g. That being said, it should be a faster bike. I was tempted to go 40mm for less of a weight penalty... but the sexiness of the deeper 56 in matching carbon won me over. The validation for my superficial choice is better aero.

The wheels are 17mm internal, 56mm u-shaped, 26mm at the brake tracks, 27mm at the inner portion of the brake tracks, and 28mm at the widest point. A big bonus is that these are a perfect size for 25c gp5000 clinchers, which will measure closer to 26mm at the 70psi i will be runing them at (my gp4000’s measure at 26mm at 70mm on the narrower mavics, so the narrower 5000’s should be about the same on a wider rim).

The rims came in overweight (515g +/- 15g was stated) as expected... but they were pretty gorgeous, if not 100% flawless. Either way, they were much nicer than expected, which was a relief, as i was expecting a rough product.

Now i am just waiting for a cane creek aer lightweight headset, extralight expander plug, 8g bottle cage (i also ordered a pair of aero elite crono bottles), light pedals, and the hubs. R2 bike’s shipping has been quite disappointing vs jensen usa or chain reaction as there is no pre-pay customs option... so i will get an extended customs delay... i will need to pay customs, and pay extra for the customs processing. Jensen/crc get me stuff to my door 3 days after ordering, no fuss. With r2, it has been 2weeks, and canada customs only recieved the items. For what i paid, you think r2 could give me a better shipping option. Even my rims from china came much faster!!!

First world problems, but the wait is painful as i need those hubs before spokes can be ordered. And even if there is still a few months left of snow... i just want to see the visual impact of these rims mounted on my bike. This bike is going to be a looker!!!